Bad Presentation

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2008)

I had the misfortune of watching this film last night on the AMC cable channel. Don't do it! I should have known better, because I know how AMC handles their product, but it was late at night and nothing else was on the tube but infomercials.
The channel showed this widescreen film pan-and-scan, which is an abomination, first and foremost. Then, secondly, they interrupt the film for a commercial break every 5 to 7 minutes! Agghh! I will grant that the commercial breaks were not that long (2-4 minutes), but, when dealing with a film that is 3 hours long, and has such an epic scope, these frequent interruptions become trying pretty quickly. These frequent interruptions are less irksome when AMC shows Hollywood fluff like action films or comedies (anything with Eddie Murphy comes to mind), which, also, are much shorter, but with an intense, long, epic film like this, they rise to the level of maddening soon enough.
I have to say, I stuck with the film since I was over an hour into it and wanted to see it through to the end, but I did so through clenched teeth, and finally went to bed in the wee hours.
The film itself is pretty great. Yes, in a way, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has trumped its beach landing scenario with film-making that seems both more realistic and more modern. But this was state-of-the-art epic Hollywood craftsmanship in 1962, and the subject befits this sweeping, epic approach. Such an amazing topic that the idea of not delving into the characters' personal lives, thoughts or dreams, is an appropriate one in this case. I'm not a John Wayne fan at all, but okay, he's not seen here too much (nobody is) and he does a decent enough job. What I did object to was stunt casting of musicians Paul Anka and Fabian, even if they too had brief roles. They're not so good.
Overall, I recommend this film, but get it on DVD, do not watch it on AMC.